Merle Haggard Became a Country Singer Because His First Dream Job Didn’t Work Out

Merle Haggard is a country music icon. He wrote, recorded, and released some of the most memorable songs in the genre’s history. Songs like “Mama Tried,” “If We Make It Through December,” “Sliver Wings,” and many more are still in heavy rotation for fans of traditional country music. However, some might be surprised to learn that Haggard didn’t set out to be a star.

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Haggard talked about his early goals and dreams as an artist in a 1981 interview. During the conversation, he revealed that he had already far surpassed the dreams that started his career. He went on to say that he needed to set more goals to keep himself from getting bored.

[RELATED: “Are You Ready for Your Song, Mama?”: Merle Haggard Singing This Country Classic to His Mom Hits Like a Hammer to the Heart]

Merle Haggard Didn’t Plan to Be a Singer

While many artists come into the music business with big dreams and the desire to be a superstar, Merle Haggard just wanted to make a living.

Early in the interview, Haggard was asked if he felt like he had done everything he wanted to do in life. “I surpassed all the dreams I ever had in life. I’ve got to set some new goals for myself so I don’t get bored once in a while,” he replied. “I’ve had a great life and had some great things happen to me,” he added.

“Well, really, I never had my sights set all that high,” Haggard said. “I intended to be a musician. That’s what I wanted to do–just make a living playing guitar. I wasn’t good enough, so the singing thing was discovered in the process,” he added. In short, Haggard became one of the most popular and influential country singers and songwriters of the 20^th century because he couldn’t play guitar well enough to make a living as a session player.

“Fuzzy Owen, a steel guitar player in Bakersfield, California kind of put up the money for my first records. The very first records began to do well and received some recognition,” he recalled of the early days of his solo career. “We wound up on a major label, with Capitol Records after three releases on a small label. Over the years, we’ve managed to sell several million records. My career’s been one that wasn’t just a flash in the pan,” he said.

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